Guidelines on the Buying of a Good Persian Carpet or Rug
Genuine Persian carpets are of Iranian origin, whereas those sourced from countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, India, Afghanistan, or Turkey, amongst other countries, are not considered the real McCoy. In order not to be disappointed in your choice and purchase of such an item, these are the suggested checks which you should apply:
Labels on the Persian rugs will be found on the rug’s underside. Ensure that your rug is made in Iran. Should the rug come from another country it is not strictly considered Persian.
Knots on Persian carpets will be either single- or double-looped. Those woven originally used a single loop only; now, however, double-looping has been accepted. Check that, in an antique or really old carpet, single-looping has been used.
Pattern: Check that the pattern of the rug does not show at the back. If it does, it is very likely to be machine-made.
Layout of Persian carpet: Designs and layouts of these carpets have remained basically the same over the years, featuring only one of four layout principles- that is, a compartment; a central medallion; an all-over; or a one-sided layout. All motifs have significance and meaning, and are attached to the region of origin.
Weaving techniques Hand-woven rugs will be costly because they are labour-intensive to produce; also, no two identical rugs will be made. Genuine, hand-knotted rugs may be either of the flat-weave variety (the least costly), or hand-knotted (the most costly), or hand-tufted.
Density of Persian rug knotting: In other words, the number of knots per square inch contributes greatly to the rug’s quality. From 30 to 300 knots per square inch is the average range for a good quality Persian carpet. Those with 300 knots per square inch are the thickest and the costliest.
When hand-spun wool is used, the carpet becomes more valuable, each carpet being unique. These are less uniform than are the machine-made rugs.
One other factor to consider is the type of dye used. If the dye is natural, the carpet will cost up to 30 per cent more than otherwise.
Persian rugs of between 50 and 100 years old are known as semi-antique, and are less costly than those of 100 years or older; these are known as antiques. Your Persian rug will increase in value as time goes by.
Prospective purchasers may scan eBay, where a wide variety of rugs may be viewed, before making a suitable selection.
